A programmed feeding regimen was used to feed rats a cariogenic diet or one of five foodstuffs commonly consumed as "snack foods". A nutritionally adequate diet was presented as supplemental feedings to assure sufficient nutritional elements not supplied by the foodstuffs alone. Each foodstuff was replicated at least one time. The objective was to evaluate this regimen for wide scale use in the assessment of potential cariogenicity of various foods when compared to one of high cariogenicity. The Relative Caries Inducing Potential (RCIP) was calculated separately using caries scores resulting from 1) buccal-lingual and proximal surfaces, 2) sulcal surfaces, and 3) the total caries scores. Although the value of the RCIP was different for each of the three surface scores, the rank ordering of the foods to sucrose (20%), in terms of cariogenic potential, was identical. The highest RCIP values were obtained when only the sulcal surface scores were compared and were: cookies 0.86, white bread 0.73, raisins 0.66, peanuts 0.48 and cheese 0.33.